Craven County, NC Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)
Amplified music rules in Craven County, NC, also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances, set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Craven County Code § 24-22(b)(1)-(2)
- Quiet hours
- 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Noise-sensitive zone
- 200 ft of school, church, nursing home, hospital, funeral home
- Vehicle/boat threshold
- 50 ft from device on public right-of-way or waterway
- Enforcing agency
- Craven County Sheriff (§ 24-21)
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor under N.C.G.S. § 14-4 (§ 24-24)
Summary
Craven County Code § 24-22(b)(1)-(2) bars operating radios, musical instruments, sound amplifiers or loudspeakers between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in a way that creates a noise disturbance across a property line, and bars it at any hour within 200 feet of a school, church, nursing home, hospital or funeral home, the noise-sensitive zone defined in § 24-20.
Noise-sensitive zone means any area within 200 feet from the property lines of any school, church, nursing home, hospital or funeral home. ... (1)Radios, television sets, musical instruments and similar devices. Operating, playing or permitting the operation or playing of any radio, television, phonograph, drum, musical instrument, sound amplifier, or similar device which produces, reproduces, or amplifies sound:a.Between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance across a real property boundary or within a noise-sensitive zone; ... (2)Loudspeakers and public address systems. Using or operating, for any purpose, any loudspeaker, public address system, or similar device such that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance across a real property boundary or within a noise-sensitive zone, or between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day on a public right-of-way or public space.
Full Breakdown
Article II of Chapter 24, Noise Control, opens with the Board of Commissioners' declared policy to prevent unreasonably loud, disturbing or unusually excessive noise and to keep the county's noise level low. Section 24-20 defines a noise-sensitive zone as any area within 200 feet of the property lines of a school, church, nursing home, hospital or funeral home. if it creates a noise disturbance across a real property boundary or within a noise-sensitive zone, at 50 feet from the device if operated in a vehicle or boat on a public right-of-way, space or waterway, or at any time if it disturbs a fellow passenger on a common carrier.
window on a public right-of-way or public space, is prohibited. The sheriff enforces the article under § 24-21, with power to inspect property with the owner's permission or a warrant and to stop and test vehicles or boats reasonably suspected of violating the noise rules. Section 24-23 carves out emergency, permitted, domesticated-animal, hunting, and timbering/logging/agricultural noise from the article's reach. § 14-4, on top of the Code's general § 1-11 civil penalty.
Violations & Fines
Playing a radio, musical instrument, sound amplifier or loudspeaker between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. so it creates a noise disturbance across a property line, or at any hour within 200 feet of a school, church, nursing home, hospital or funeral home, violates § 24-22(b)(1)-(2). Section 24-24 makes any violation of the article a misdemeanor under N.C.G.S. § 14-4, and the sheriff can also pursue the Code's general § 1-11 civil penalty of $500.00 per violation, accruing daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours are amplified music restricted in unincorporated Craven County?
Are there stricter rules near schools or hospitals?
Do loudspeakers and PA systems fall under the same rule as music?
What's the penalty for violating Craven County's noise rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Craven County
Compare Craven County to another location·View the North Carolina noise ordinances overview
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